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European Parliament resolution of 16 March 2023 on Cambodia: the case of opposition leader Kem Sokha

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The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Cambodia,
– having regard to Rules 144(5) and 132(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 3 March 2023, following a trial deemed by UN experts to have ‘failed to meet the standard of either Cambodian or international human rights law’, Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Kem Sokha to 27 years in jail, which he is temporarily allowed to serve under house arrest, and indefinitely suspended his political rights to vote and to stand for election; Tiếp tục đọc “European Parliament resolution of 16 March 2023 on Cambodia: the case of opposition leader Kem Sokha” →

A real-life spy story

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March 7, 2023
By David Leonhardt, The New Yrok Times
Good morning. We tell you about a real-life spy caper involving a General Electric engineer and his handler in Nanjing.
Illustrations by Hokyoung Kim
Intelligence Inc.
The invitation seemed like an exciting honor. Hua, as The New York Times is referring to him, was an engineer at GE Aviation in Cincinnati, and a Chinese aeronautical university had asked him to come back to China in 2017 to deliver a lecture about his field.
But Hua knew that GE might deny him permission to give the talk out of a concern that it would betray proprietary information. So he accepted the invitation — and traveled to Nanjing — without telling his bosses. When a suspicious F.B.I. agent later interviewed him about the trip, Hua dissembled and said he was only visiting friends and family.
By this point, Hua was facing likely criminal charges for lying to a federal agent, and he agreed to participate in a counterintelligence operation rather than being charged. Over the next six months, one of his hosts in Nanjing — a Ministry of State Security employee who had posed as a regional economic development official — tried to persuade Hua to download sensitive material from GE computers. All the while, the F.B.I. was coaching Hua and ultimately hoping to set up a meeting in a European country where Hua’s handler could be arrested and extradited to the United States.
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The weaponizing of social media: A Private Company Is Using Social Media to Track Down Russian Soldiers

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Open-source investigations were once potent journalistic tools, but in Ukraine, they’re being used on the battlefield.

MARCH 2, 2023, 6:00 AM

By Jack Hewson, FP

On Oct. 12, 2022, Russian soldier Aleksey Lebedev logged onto VKontakte, Russia’s most popular social network, and uploaded a photo of himself in military fatigues crouching in a large white tent. He had been smart enough to obscure his face with a balaclava, but unfortunately for Lebedev and his comrades, he did not obscure the exact location from which he had posted: Svobodne village in southern Donetsk.

Russian soldier Aleksey Lebedev posted on the social media site VKontakteRussian soldier Aleksey Lebedev posted on the social media site VKontakte

Russian soldier Aleksey Lebedev posted on the social media site VKontakte on Oct. 12. The Ukrainian military investigations company Molfar noted the location on Google Maps (inset); a satellite version from Google Maps is pictured in the bottom inset. VKONTAKTE/GOOGLE MAPS VIA MOLFAR

Lebedev’s post was picked up by a Ukrainian military investigations company called Molfar. This lead was transferred to an analyst in its open-source intelligence (OSINT) branch, and investigators spent the next few hours constructing a target location profile for Lebedev and his military unit. The unit’s location was believed to be a training base for Russian and pro-Russian separatist troops. After discovering two other photos posted from the same location by pro-Russian servicemen—as well as other corroborating evidence, which was shared with Foreign Policy—Molfar passed its findings onto Ukrainian intelligence.

Read more on Foreign Affairs >>

The raging debate about smartphones and teenage mental health

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February 27, 2023

Annie Flanagan for The New York Times
The phone in the room
Digital technology has caused the biggest changes to teenage life in many decades. Typical American teenagers spend about half of their waking hours on their smartphones. They are on the phones when they are alone at home and when they are hanging out with friends.
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U.N. calls for Russia to leave Ukraine

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[TĐH:Summarizing the ASEAN’s countries’ votes:

Members:

In favor (8): Bruinei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore

Abstensions (2): Vietnam, Laos.

Observers (2): In favor: Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste

Total: 10 in favors, 2 abstentions]

141 members of the 193-nation body voted in support of the nonbinding, largely symbolic resolution.

Monitors show result of a United Nations General Assembly vote for a U.N. resolution upholding Ukraine's territorial integrity and calling for a cessation of hostilities after Russia's invasion.

Monitors show result of a United Nations General Assembly vote for a U.N. resolution upholding Ukraine’s territorial integrity and calling for a cessation of hostilities after Russia’s invasion. | Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo

By MIA MCCARTHY, Reuters

02/23/2023 04:37 PM EST

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution calling for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine, almost exactly one year after it invaded the neighboring country.

In the 193-member body, 141 members voted in support of the resolution, exceeding the two-thirds threshold needed to pass.

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Germany Temporarily Does Not Recognise Vietnamese Passports

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Published: 15 February 2023 Authors: Stefan Talmon and Tobias Weiß, GPIL

On 1 July 2022, Viet Nam began issuing new non-biometric passports with a dark blue cover and a serial number beginning with ‘P’. Unlike the previous green passports, the new document no longer included the place of birth of the holder. Instead, the place of birth was hidden in a twelve-digit personal numeric code that had to be deciphered using a seven-page list of tables. Contrary to international practice, Viet Nam had not informed the German Government in advance about the new passports. On 27 July 2022, Germany became the first country to stop recognising the new passports.

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Putin and Xi are as close as ever, and that’s a problem for the US 

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CNN Simone McCarthy, CNN ----------
When Antony Blinken makes an expected trip to Beijing in the coming days for what would be the first visit to China by a US secretary of state since 2018, he will be cutting a stark contrast to the scene in the Chinese capital one year earlier.  Then, Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the opening of the Beijing Olympics – meeting for talks and dinner in Putin’s honor, and declaring a “no limits” partnership between the two neighbors. Weeks later, as Russian tanks rolled across the border into Ukraine starting an invasion that would devastate the country and cause a humanitarian crisis, Chinese leaders did not shrink from that declaration.  Though Beijing claimed impartiality in the conflict and no advance knowledge of Russia’s intent, it also refused to condemn Moscow. Instead, it parroted Kremlin lines blaming NATO for provoking the conflict – further fracturing relationships with both Europe and the US.  Tiếp tục đọc “Putin and Xi are as close as ever, and that’s a problem for the US “ →

Industry gatekeepers

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[TĐH: This is a very good economic lesson on monopoly. In this case, the monopoly in selling tickets of entertainment shows, and how the monopoly was formed.]

By Ashley Wu, The Morning – The New York Times
Good morning. One company controls a wide swath of the concert industry, and lawmakers say music fans are paying the price.

Protesters outside the Senate this past week.Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Ticketmaster has come under intense scrutiny since it botched the rollout of tickets to Taylor Swift’s tour late last year. Though the company has long been accused of anti-consumer practices, the backlash to the Swift debacle brought a new level of public attention. This week, the Senate held a hearing that explored whether Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, have an unfair monopoly over the live music industry.
I spoke with Ben Sisario, who covers the music industry for The Times, about how Ticketmaster become so dominant.
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“Red Card” for the President? Vietnam’s Biggest Political Drama in Decades

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PUBLISHED 17 JAN 2023 Fulcrum.com

LE HONG HIEP

Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc might be removed from his position. If online speculation is true, Phuc will become the first Vietnamese president to be ousted while still in office.

On the evening of 13 January 2023, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc was seen present at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi cheering the Vietnamese national football team in the first leg of the Asean Football Federation Championship final against Thailand. Despite his cheerful appearance, Phuc is facing a critical turnaround in his political career. During a secret meeting on the same day, the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) quietly voted to oust him from his position as president.

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REPowerEU: affordable, secure and sustainable energy for Europe

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Tweet

European Commission  @EU_Commission

EU official organization

Contrary to Russia’s plans, Europe has secured enough energy to be safe this winter. Thanks to the efforts of Europeans, we have cut our gas use by 20%, well above our target of 15% set in July. More about the #REPowerEU plan → http://europa.eu/!wbD6NW

________________

https://ec.europa.eu/avservices/play.cfm?ref=I-225403&lg=EN&sublg=none&autoplay=true&tin=10&tout=59
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CFR – Daily news brief Jan. 13, 2023

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Editor’s note: There will be no Daily Brief on Monday, January 16, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Top of the Agenda

Japan’s Kishida Visits White House Amid Historic Military Buildup at Home

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and U.S. President Joe Biden will meet today (WaPo) in Washington, with Biden expected to praise Japan’s plans to dramatically boost its defense spending. Their meeting is expected to focus on the war in Ukraine, Chinese military aggression, the North Korean nuclear threat, and boosting security cooperation. Ahead of the visit, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told Nikkei that Washington is willing to help Tokyo gain the ability to launch missile attacks on enemy territory.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss U.S. export controls (Reuters) targeting China’s semiconductor sector. Tokyo supports the controls but has not matched them. Kishida’s visit caps off a weeklong tour of Western partner countries ahead of the Group of Seven (G7) summit that Japan will host in May.
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CFR – Daily news brief Jan. 12, 2023

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Top of the Agenda

Putin Replaces Russia’s Top General in Ukraine After Battlefield Setbacks

Russia’s highest-ranking military officer, General Valery Gerasimov, was promoted to lead the country’s forces (FT) in Ukraine, replacing General Sergey Surovikin. Since Surovikin was appointed three months ago (CBS), Russia has lost control of the southern town of Kherson and struggled to provide basic equipment to the hundreds of thousands of troops it started conscripting in September. Surovikin has also faced criticism for housing hundreds of troops in a building that was bombed by Ukraine. He will now serve as one of Gerasimov’s deputies.
Meanwhile, tensions have reportedly flared between Russia’s military and its Wagner Group of mercenaries over which forces deserve credit for alleged territorial gains in the town of Soledar. An unnamed source told the Financial Times that Surovikin’s demotion could be linked to the Wagner Group’s apparent successes.
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The Japan Coast Guard’s role in realizing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific

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By Kentaro Furuya
Capt. Kentaro Furuya (JCG) (k-furuya@grips.ac.jp) is an adjunct professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) and professor at the Japan Coast Guard Academy.This PacNet was developed as a part of a workshop on potential cooperation among Quad coast guards to implement the FOIP vision organized by YCAPS. The papers were edited by John Bradford (RSIS) and Blake Herzinger (AEI). For the first in the series, click here.

Originally responsible primarily for maintaining good order and the safety of life at sea in domestic waters, the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) has expanded its commitment to international duties to cultivate external relationships and much-needed capacity building in neighboring states. While they began in the 1970s, these international activities have, in recent years, become essential functions in realizing Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). The JCG’s broad spectrum of capabilities and engagements makes it indispensable across all elements of Tokyo’s broader regional strategy, and its deepening partnership with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) is amplifying its impact.
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Japan Bets Big on Bringing Semiconductor Manufacturing Home

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An ambitious state-backed industrial plan targets both growth and China.

By William Sposato, a Tokyo-based journalist.

A semiconductor manufacturing plant is seen in Japan.
A semiconductor manufacturing plant is seen in Japan.

foreignpolicy.com

JANUARY 9, 2023, 12:28 PM

TOKYO—To get back some of the high-tech mojo that made it an economic powerhouse, Japan is launching an ambitious program to bring back cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing, a field it ceded to Taiwan, South Korea, and China nearly 20 years ago. But will this new campaign at state-backed industrial policy succeed, and more importantly, is it even the right goal?

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